Items Tagged with 'soil testing'

ARTICLES

In this episode of the “<em>No-Till Farmer</em> Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, <em>No-Till Farmer</em> editor Frank Lessiter talks with Jake Kaderly, an agronomist with 38 years of experience and a 2018 winner of <em>No-Till Farmer’s</em> Responsible Nutrient Management Practitioners program who also no-tills 300 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and cover crops in south-central Wisconsin.

In this episode of the “No-Till Farmer Influencers & Innovators” podcast, brought to you by Montag Manufacturing, No-Till Farmer editor Frank Lessiter talks with Jake Kaderly, an agronomist with 38 years of experience and a 2018 winner of No-Till Farmer’s Responsible Nutrient Management Practitioners program who also no-tills 300 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and cover crops in south-central Wisconsin.

The theory in using starter fertilizer is that it gets the plant growing faster after emergence and that rapid establishment will enable better yield. However, some experts believe a faster start doesn’t necessarily mean a higher yield.

Soil health tests can help you understand whether you have the microbial activity to supply nutrients to plants or whether your soil structure is sufficient to allow air and water to flow. If you’re going to send soil samples to a lab, the quality of samples you collect is very important. Here are a few rules of thumb for soil health test sampling from the University of Minnesota.

Because many producers wait until spring green-up to make their nitrogen (N) application, does soil sampling in the fall for nitrate-N really provide useful information for N management in wheat? Kansas State University Extension provides some insight into this question.

Soil biology plays a key role in building healthy soils, providing nutrients to crops and naturally controlling some soil-borne pests and diseases. It is difficult to assess the soil biological properties in a lab, but the PLFA test serves as a good indicator of soil microbial communities.

We went from farming white sugar sand to farming the heaviest of clay soils when my family moved our farming operation from Florida to Alabama in 1989. To say the move made farming a bit different would be a drastic understatement.

With wheat prices relatively low and production efficiency being critical, now's the time to get soil sampling done to have good information on which to base your fertilizer inputs, says Kansas State University Extension.

PRODUCTS

For many years, we’ve considered fertilizer to be nitrogen, phosphate and potash. But as yields have increased, we’ve continued to remove secondary nutrients and micronutrients at greater amounts. Higher yields also increase the daily demand for these nutrients, creating potential micronutrient deficiencies. How can we tell if our crop is deficient in micronutrients? Ward Laboratories founder and president Ray Ward discusses the two methods of evaluation: soil testing and plant analysis, and what the proper sampling protocol is for each. He also explains how to correct micronutrient deficiencies, including the timing of soil and foliar nutrient application for each micronutrient.

Every time we remove crops from the field, we remove all of the plant nutrients. If the soil is short on available nutrients, either commercial or organic fertilizer must be applied to the field to maintain productive yields. But if the soil has a high supply of nutrients, soil testing is a must to avoid over-application, which may contribute to environmental problems. Ray Ward will discuss the essential nutrients plants need and the optimal soil test value of each nutrient. The founder and president of Ward Laboratories in Kearney, Neb., will also talk about the importance of returning animal manures to the fields at proper rates.

Videos

Addressing a gathering of the Dodge County Farmers for Healthy Soil & Healthy Water, Russell Hedrick of Hickory, N.C., shares a presentation on the impacts on water quality that can be realized by utilizing regenerative ag practices, such as growing cover crops, reducing soil disturbance, maintaining soil armor, and integrating livestock.

Finding solutions to the problems farmers face is what inspired Harry and Etta Yetter to open a small machine shop in west central Illinois in the 1930s. Today, four generations later, Yetter continues the tradition of solving agricultural problems to meet the needs of producers all over the world.

Needham Ag understands the role of technology in making better use of limited resources within a specific environment by drawing on a wealth of global experience to overcome the challenges facing today's farmers, manufacturers and dealers.